Miami Nice

For those of us with long locks, the time it takes to get highlights can be tedious. Aldo Coppola's first London salon promises sun-kissed hair in as little as 20 minutes. While Aldo Coppola, a long-time consultant for L'Oreal, has achieved coiffure deity status in Italy and beyond, his new Sloane Avenue salon is his first venture on these shores. I had opted for the Sombrero Miami treatment, which delivers highlights with graduated colour, and interestingly, without foils. My stylist Adriano produced, what can only be described as, a clear plastic sombrero with a hole in the middle through which my hair was gathered. Once this was secure, my hair was parted into sections and pinned around the sombrero before Adriano painted on the colour. There was no whiff of chemicals as the dye used is all natural, based on an organic olive leaf extract. The whole process took around 20 minutes. The sombrero was a tad unwieldy as I sat down to have my hair washed but was quickly removed while I dozed under a colour-changing canopy (pictured) enjoying my shiatsu massage chair. As my hair was gently dried, the colour really came to life. Gone was the tell-tale line between natural and not-so natural colour, which has me running back to the salon each month. Instead, the colour was more intense at the tips blending to my natural ashy brown towards the roots but still with an overall uplift of colour. I went for an added boost with the Coppola keratin treatment and my hair is now noticeably thicker and stronger - all ready for the rigours of summer holiday sun, sand and salty water. Sombrero Miami from £150. Aldo Coppola, 70 Sloane Avenue, London SW3 3DD; 020 7052 0709 www.aldocoppola.co.uk